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The recent announcement of SmackDown moving to the USA Network after its current deal with Fox expires in 2024 has surprised the WWE universe.
Vince Russo believes that it would be a "big step backward" for the global juggernaut, as the show moving from a major network like Fox is bound to affect its standing.
SmackDown aired on the USA Network before a blockbuster deal with Fox was inked in 2018. The show is slated to be back on the USA Network in October 2024, which is when the Fox deal will expire.
On the latest episode of Sportskeeda's Writing with Russo, the former WCW Champion proclaimed that Fox not renewing SmackDown was a loss for the promotion.
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Russo also spoke about the four prime-time specials that WWE will produce, calling it a positive development.
"I think that's a big loss. I think that's a big step backward. Come on, guys, this ain't me being anti-WWE; I'm talking from a business point of view. Bro, you're going from a major, major network back to cable television, and even though, bro, part of the announcement was WWE was going to do four prime-time shows a year. Now, they didn't specify if they are going to be on USA or NBC. I mean, are they gonna be Saturday Night Main Events? That's really nice. Being able to put it on prime time, if it's NBC, is great; that's a cool thing," said Vince Russo.
The former WCW Champion explained that the kind of exposure athletes enjoyed while appearing on Fox cannot be replicated with the new deal.
"But I don't think that makes up for 52 weeks on Fox. Bro, we were telling this all along. The advertising they were getting during NFL shows, you can't replace that type of exposure," said Vince Russo. [3:05 - 4:12]
Check out the full video below:
Dutch Mantell on WWE SmackDown's move from Fox to USA Network
On a recent episode of Smack Talk, Dutch Mantell mentioned that SmackDown moving back to the USA Network would only strengthen its long association with WWE. Mantell added that since the Friday night show was doing great numbers in recent months, the USA Network was wise to obtain its rights.
"Well, that's the network they made their name on. They understand their worth, their value. I congratulate WWE for picking that contract up. Now, SmackDown is peaking almost. They still haven't peaked out but they're doing a lot better than they did a year ago. They doing 700,000 people a week better now. Last week's show with The Rock did 2.6 million almost, which is not a bad number for Friday nights," said Mantell.
Recent reports also suggested that RAW and NXT, which currently air on USA Network, might move to a different platform once their rights expire.
Please credit Sportskeeda WrestleBinge and embed the YouTube video if you use quotes from the first half of this article.
